


I Want To Treasure Our Warmth (Just As It Is)

by gyuhan



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Non AU, Romance, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 04:44:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17780792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gyuhan/pseuds/gyuhan
Summary: "Mingyu, will you look up, please?" Jeonghan's voice, closer than before, is enough to jolt Mingyu into listening, head snapping up to see Jeonghan standing in front of him just close enough that Mingyu could reach up and poke his stomach if he wasn't currently having seventy meltdowns in his head. Jeonghan's eyes are warm and his mouth curls up at the corners when Mingyu listens to him. "Would you like to ask me out on a date?"Mingyu asks Jeonghan out on a date for Valentine's Day.





	I Want To Treasure Our Warmth (Just As It Is)

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from Home, but it's also the lyric [Mingyu was singing to Jeonghan from one of the recent fansigns](https://twitter.com/forgyuhan/status/1094234907000389635). Happy Valentine's Day, lads. Pretend like I don't have other fics I should be writing right now.
> 
> follow me on: [my twitter](https://twitter.com/mingyupuppyism), [my tumblr](http://gyuldaengie.tumblr.com/), [the gyuhan twitter](https://twitter.com/forgyuhan/)

The skin around Mingyu's thumbnail aches, freshly pinked from his gnawing, as he tries to quash every nervous impulse underfoot, leg jiggling with too many nerves to try and name. If his calculations are correct - which they often aren't these days with his mind as frazzled as it's been - within the next five minutes Yoon Jeonghan will walk into the room and see him there, on his bed, waiting.

Perhaps he chose the wrong way to go about this. Sitting on the object of your affections' bed while alone doesn't seem like it can lead anywhere productive when you're supposed to be fulfilling a plan you've spent days - if not weeks - preparing. Actually, Mingyu's currently thinking about everything  _other_ than what he's really in Jeonghan's room for.

Like, for instance, he's thinking about how Jeonghan seems to have started collecting bottle caps; a row of caps from various glass and plastic bottles rest piled like haystacks on Jeonghan's desk just opposite Mingyu. He wonders just when Jeonghan started doing that and why he's not bothered mentioning it. Mingyu wonders what else Jeonghan doesn't mention about himself. Then he thinks, well, if he doesn't even know that Jeonghan collects bottle caps then what does he  _really_ know about Jeonghan? What if he read all the signals wrong and this is stupid, and he's stupid, and now he's about to make a fool of himself?

Mingyu hides his face in his hands, wet thumb just beside his temple, and makes a noise no one should ever make unless dying. Or unless you're Kim Mingyu and you've just realized that you're a pillock who doesn't know how to do this without fucking up. The "this" being asking out the object of his affections - who happens to be his polar opposite according to everyone on the face of the planet, so what could possibly go wrong, right? Yeah, he's a lost cause already.

Not even a week ago Mingyu was boldly sliding his warm palm over Jeonghan's and curling his fingers around Jeonghan's in front of everyone, and now he can't even think about what he's meant to do next. And he was supposed to have  _planned_ this.

The night before this, back when he still had some levelheaded thought left in his brain, Minghao had leaned against the doorjamb of his and Jihoon's room with crossed arms and the air of a man who was more than a little done with Mingyu's shit. Seokmin, who was also in his room and hoarding Jihoon's bed for his own purposes, had been absently online shopping on his phone while giving Mingyu encouraging words of advice. Minghao was coaching Mingyu through the process of asking Jeonghan out and whenever Mingyu would start to whine about, "But what if he doesn't actually like me? Maybe he just feels bad for me," Seokmin would pipe up with a simple, "He likes you, Mingyu," to remind Mingyu that some things a best friend just knows. 

So he has a plan. 

The sound of soft footsteps fall muffled outside the door and Mingyu looks up with startled eyes, dread coiling around with the acidity in his stomach. The doorknob turns so slow it's like something from a horror movie, the door pushing open as Jeonghan steps just as slowly into the room. Jeonghan's blond hair drips down onto a pastel yellow towel, fluffy and wrapped around Jeonghan's neck, a stray drop from his hair plopping onto the phone screen his eyes are currently glued to. Music plays in Jeonghan's ears, a quiet buzzing Mingyu hears faintly, perhaps only because his senses are heightened with all the tension and stress rising in him. Jeonghan's lips purse at his screen, thumb swiping away the droplet, lashes charcoal black and particularly long from his morning shower. Those lashes flutter as Jeonghan closes the door behind himself and looks up into his room, sight immediately drawn to Mingyu without preamble almost like he knew Mingyu would be there.

He has no plan.

Mingyu has absolutely no idea why he's even in the room, forgetting everything he had prepared. It was stupid anyway, whatever it was he was going to say to Jeonghan. It probably would have ended with Jeonghan shunning him with laughter, kicking him out of the room and throwing him heartlessly to the dogs. Well, okay, that was dramatic. Jeonghan would never do something like that. Jeonghan's nice. He smells sweet and talks sweeter. Even when he's being mean he's still cute. He would never think Mingyu's an idiot for asking him on a date... well... maybe he would, but Mingyu doesn't think he'd say it to his face. Or. Well. He hopes he won't.

"Mingyu?" Jeonghan lets his phone screen dim and then lock when he says Mingyu's name, pulling his earbuds out and wrapping them around his phone, giving Mingyu his full attention.

"Um, yeah, hi," says Mingyu. His voice cracks. It's definitely not the most terrible thing that's happened in his life, but it's at least in the running.

"Hello." 

"What're you doing here?" Mingyu asks while wiping his sweaty hands on his thighs.

Jeonghan stuffs his phone in his pocket and tilts his head at Mingyu, which is just as intimidating as it is cute. "This is my room."

"Oh." Mingyu blinks once and then his face starts heating up. In a rush he says, "Right, yeah, this is your room I shouldn't be the one asking that. Anyway, I think I should go."

Mingyu stands up awkwardly, feeling for a moment like maybe he should bow the entire way out of Jeonghan's room for bothering him with his... whatever he was planning to do here. His frivolous and dumb feelings.

"Wait," Jeonghan stops him before he can move. Jeonghan's face remains the dictionary definition of calm while Mingyu's sure his face looks more like a calamity has just struck him... or perhaps several calamities and also a bus. "Why don't you just tell me what's going on instead? And sit back down, you look like you're about to puke."

Jeonghan walks over to his desk and pulls his chair out while Mingyu dumbly flops back down on the bed, bouncing for a moment. Jeonghan sits down with one leg crossed over the other as he leans an elbow onto the arm of the chair nearest Mingyu and waits expectantly. His lingering gaze makes every hair on Mingyu's body stand on end, stomach flipping and hands clasping hard onto each other when Mingyu settles them stiffly over his lap.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Obviously." Jeonghan nods, cheek in his hand now. "What about?"

"Um. Well." Mingyu might really throw up. He looks away and studies the wall trim. "I was thinking about something... a _lot_. I've been thinking about this for a long time - for a few months consciously and however long unconsciously. Definitely more now than I used to, you know - less randomly and more all the time. Obsessively. Wait, I mean, not _obsessively_ in, like, a weird way. Just... a lot. Thinking about yo- I mean, thinking about _it_ a lot." He clears his throat and looks down at his fingers. He's pressing his unblemished thumb into the raw skin of his other thumb. "I wanted to ask you something."

Mingyu doesn't look up to see Jeonghan smile.

"Did you?" Jeonghan asks, voice holding a lilt to it that has enough of a tease in it to have him squeezing his eyes closed.

"Yeah. I wanted to ask if you..." God. There's a lump he can't swallow around in his throat and he can't make the words come out. This is horrific. "If you maybe wanted, um..." This is the worst thing that's ever happened to him. His cheeks feel like they're going to leave third-degree burns on his face and every animal impulse leftover from human evolution tells him he should bolt out of here as fast as he can to preserve himself from the awful pain of rejection. "To perhaps- I mean, with _me_ maybe... if you'd say... if you'd _want_..."

Why did he think Jeonghan would say yes? When did he lose his mind to such a degree?

"Mingyu, will you look up, please?" Jeonghan's voice, closer than before, is enough to jolt Mingyu into listening, head snapping up to see Jeonghan standing in front of him just close enough that Mingyu could reach up and poke his stomach if he wasn't currently having seventy meltdowns in his head. Jeonghan's eyes are warm and his mouth curls up at the corners when Mingyu listens to him. "Would you like to ask me out on a date?"

It's like a wave of ice cold water flushes through his entire system.

Avoiding directly answering, he worries at his lower lip and asks, "H-How did you know?"

"You're not as subtle as you'd like to think." Mingyu feels embarrassment prickle behind his eyes, glancing once again at his hands. "It's also Valentine's Day. What else would you ask me? To help you fold your clothes? You do that on your own anyway unlike Junhui and Chan. Plus you'd just text me if that's all it was. Ah, or you'd call me since you've been doing that quite a bit recently."

"Because you like calling more than texting," Mingyu reminds him sheepishly.

"I do, don't I? Thank you for remembering." Mingyu _mm-hmms_ in place of saying anything else, heart beating itself senseless against his rib cage. "It's nice to hear your voice over the phone. I prefer it."

Mingyu doesn't choke so much as he does practically swallow his whole tongue on accident. He tilts his head back mid-cough to try and breathe properly again and Jeonghan is still watching him with a smile that makes Mingyu's whole body feel hot and cold at the same time. It doesn't seem like Jeonghan hates this or that he thinks Mingyu is a loser for even thinking he'd want to go out on a date with him. Jeonghan's smiling and he's taking another step closer to Mingyu like he's interested in what Mingyu wants to do, like he's already agreed to the date before Mingyu's even properly asked.

It's enough to give him some courage.

He combs his hair back from over his forehead and swallows down anxiety. "Hyung, would you like to go out on a date with me tonight? Not just as a friend, I mean. Seeing me as a man."

Jeonghan reaches for him with one hand and pinches Mingyu's cheek with his thumb and the knuckle of his index finger, laughing a little at the funny, queasy, slightly annoyed face Mingyu makes as he agrees, "Of course I would."

「❦」

Standing just outside the apartment that houses two whole floors of boys, Mingyu checks his breath and tugs nervously at the collar of his shirt, mentally trying to prepare himself for what's next - a date with Jeonghan - and all that it entails. Jeonghan is silent as he comes up behind Mingyu and leans up.

"Where are we going?"

Mingyu yelps and turns around to the source of the voice that just spoke into his ear, hand briefly covering the spot behind his ear where Jeonghan's warm puff of breath caused tingles to radiate out. Jeonghan's standing just beside him with a shit-eating grin brightening his face, thrilled that he managed to scare Mingyu half to death so easily.

He's dressed in a puffy white coat with a thick faux fur trim and what looks like a soft, fuzzy vest made of baby blue cashmere over a plain collared button-up. Jeonghan's interlocking G necklace - the Gucci one he's worn for years now - has gotten caught between the swooping neck of his vest and the pressed collar of his shirt and Mingyu's impulses react before his brain, his index finger looping around the necklace's chain and lightly pulling it up from its entrapment in Jeonghan's vest. Mingyu purses his lips and steps closer to Jeonghan to tuck the necklace's chain under the collar of the button-down with both hands and make sure the G of it rests on display over Jeonghan's chest.

When Mingyu pulls back and glances up he catches sight of the odd pink to Jeonghan's cheeks before Jeonghan quickly pushes him away with a press of his hand over Mingyu's shoulder.

"Stop flirting and tell me where we're going," Jeonghan gets out through chattering teeth, digging his hands in his pockets to pull out his gloves and start slipping them on.

Mingyu bites his lip quickly in amusement. He didn't do it on purpose. He fixes Jeonghan's clothes for him all the time, so does Jeonghan always think he's flirting, then? 

"I wasn't flirting."

"Sure," Jeonghan says while waving an indifferent hand around, "whatever you say. Where are we going?"

"Nowhere if you don't zip your coat," Mingyu asserts before moving back over to Jeonghan and actually try his hand at flirting this time - finding it easier to do when Jeonghan doesn't seem like he'll reject him; he pulls Jeonghan's coat in around his torso and drops his hands to tug the zipper up practically under Jeonghan's chin, quick to start fastening the buttons over the zipper after that. Jeonghan gets cold so easily.

Jeonghan makes an indignant sound in his throat when Mingyu brings both hands over Jeonghan's shoulders to pull his massive hood up over his ears. "My _hair_ , Mingyu," Jeonghan mumbles, but Mingyu ignores it.

When he finishes he steps back and shrugs a little, fighting down the embarrassed flush working its way up his neck. "Maybe that time I was flirting."

Jeonghan eyes him up in consideration but otherwise says zilch. That leaves Mingyu with nothing to do other than reach out to grab onto Jeonghan's arm and tow him along, wanting to make sure he's following him over to where he's pulled his car out and parked it along the curb in front of their building. He opens the door for Jeonghan who's been dragging his feet the whole time with a mischievous smile, having laughed childishly when Mingyu started to tug harder at his arm to get him to pick up his feet. Jeonghan gets in with a scoff at the chivalry and Mingyu waits until all of his limbs are inside the vehicle before shutting the door and walking around to slip into the driver's seat on the other side.

Mingyu planned at least five different restaurants to eat at, all of which Jeonghan seemed like he'd enjoy the food of. They were all on the more private side of things and catered to people who would like to have their personal business left undisclosed. As an idol it comes with the territory that if you wanted to eat somewhere you'd know you'd be left alone at you'd be required to spend extra money for the more trusted places. Mingyu almost never went to any of them, not often worried about fans coming up to him and asking for pictures, but it's different this time because he wants this to be private. He wants Jeonghan alone.

It doesn't often happen that he gets spotted anywhere, either. Mingyu goes out all the time either with Minghao or the other members who'll move from their beds on days off (he's never managed to convince Jihoon to go anywhere, an iron wall) and, excluding a handful of encounters, they actually don't have to worry about being bothered much. But this isn't about not being approached by someone who'd know who they were exactly... it's about how Mingyu would like to hold Jeonghan's hand if he could. He'd like to pull Jeonghan's chair out for him and pay for the meal on his own. He wants to act on his desires, not squash them down like he already has to do all the time. So he needs privacy and besides, Jeonghan has always preferred the quieter places where he can rest and think over places with masses of people and too much going on to enjoy things peacefully.

"So we have some options," Mingyu starts as he buckles himself in and watches Jeonghan do the same. "I already know what you like so you don't have to worry about the food, just the atmosphere."

"You picked out different spots?" Jeonghan questions, the wry grin wiped from his face. He looks shocked. Mingyu nods and, upon turning the heating on, leans over the center console to flick the vents towards Jeonghan in his seat. A look passes over Jeonghan's face before he turns his head away toward the window, clearing his throat. "So what places?"

"The first one is the farthest but it's meant to feel like we're in Japan and we'd be eating while sitting on the floor. I thought it was interesting how there's a small pond in the middle of the room."

"The next one?"

"It's high up. It's fine dining with private tables for each room. There are glass windows and we can look out on all the lights in Seoul."

"Next?"

"The third one isn't as private as the others I have, but the architecture is styled around Ancient Rome and the dining area is large and the ceilings are covered in murals. The food is still Korean, it's just the looks of it that feel different."

"Fourth?"

"Um, well. It's at a hotel, but I didn't rent any of the rooms. I'm not assuming- I mean, I don't think that- and I'd never-"

Jeonghan pats at Mingyu's arm to stop him from saying anything else more embarrassing. "Is it at a bar?"

"N-No, but there is a bar in another part of the hotel if you want to go to a bar? I didn't think you liked drinking as much as you used to but I'm sure I could-"

"It's okay. I don't want to go to a bar, Mingyu."

"Right. Um. So the hotel's dining room is nice and there's a lot of rich colors there. I thought it would be a great place to take pictures of you there, but... that... I don't know how much you'd like that."

"You already take pictures of me everywhere. You never post them, though."

Mingyu looks slightly chastened. "Sorry?"

"It's fine. It just means you keep them for yourself, don't you?"

Mingyu's mouth yo-yos without a clue how to respond to that and Jeonghan smiles.

"And the last place?" 

"Oh, okay. This is the one I like the most but I know we have a lot of different opinions." Jeonghan turns more towards Mingyu with a raise of his brows. "It's not as much of an exciting and new experience as the others but it's quiet. I've been to it a couple of times before and the food is really good and it helps warm you up from the cold. You can see the chefs in the back as they cook and there's a place for you to leave notes or photos before leaving; I draw whatever I ate and stick it really high up on the wall." Mingyu snickers at that, pointing out that, "No one else has gotten theirs up as high as mine."

Jeonghan's face is indecipherable and passive as he nods. "I want to go there."

「❦」

Mingyu realizes pretty quickly into the eating portion of the date that he has no idea what exactly to talk about with Jeonghan. There's not really anything he can ask since he's known Jeonghan for years and already knows where he went to school, how many siblings he has, what his career is, etc. He doesn't think it would go over well if they talked about the rest of the members, because that would surely kill any kind of mood Mingyu is trying to cultivate. Should he talk about himself? No, Jeonghan knows all the same things about him that he does Jeonghan. 

Jeonghan rests against the back of his seat and slowly chews on his food, completely unaware of the internal conflict plaguing Mingyu's mind. Jeonghan's commented on how good the food is more than thrice already and each time Mingyu's pulse had done a pleased little jump and he found himself nodding enthusiastically. Jeonghan's pretty much devouring the food, though it's a rather patient, graceful sort of devouring. Mingyu, on the other hand, is pretty sure he's anxiously chewed at the inside of his cheek more than his food.

Jeonghan picked out their spot in the back corner of the restaurant when they came inside, positioned right beside a large plant that obscured them from the small groups of older men and women dining. It was convenient that this place had a more mature crowd since that meant there was less of a chance to be recognized. Mingyu hadn't intentionally made that choice when he was picking the places to take Jeonghan but he's certainly grateful for it.

"Stop staring, you're making the food taste bad," Jeonghan snarks suddenly.

"I wasn't staring," Mingyu poorly objects as he darts his eyes away from Jeonghan's face. "I was looking at... your necklace."

His excuse comes up flat and they both know it.

Jeonghan raises one eyebrow and decides to play along with his lame lie. "My necklace? What about it? Are you going to fix it needlessly again?"

"No," he answers quickly, voice more squeaky than he means for it to be. He drinks his water in large, ocean draining gulps to give himself time to think of something before setting the glass down. "I was just remembering when I wore it for my solo stage."

Jeonghan stops blowing on his food and eyes Mingyu. "Why? Do you want to wear it again?"

"Not right now, no..." Mingyu trails off and Jeonghan goes back to his food. Mingyu waits patiently for Jeonghan to swallow his bite before inquiring curiously now that he's thought about it, "Why did you let me wear it in the first place?"

Jeonghan _hmms_ , places his chopsticks down on his napkin, and props his chin in his hand, elbow on the table. "I wonder..."

Mingyu's neck goes hot at Jeonghan's tone, the way he goes from looking blankly out at the rest of the restaurant and then sharply over to Mingyu's face, assessing him. Figuring him out. Or, perhaps rather, reminding himself of what he already knows.

"Do you want to take a guess, Mingyu?"

"Not really..."

Jeonghan titters quietly, then says, "I thought you'd look good in it, mostly. Not because it's really attractive, but because it's mine. I'd let you borrow whatever you want of mine. Well..." Jeonghan thinks on that, see-sawing his head in thought, " _some_ things. I don't need you stretching out my clothes."

"Oh."

"Isn't that the same reason you used to give me your hoodies all the time?"

"Not intentionally..."

Without missing a beat, Jeonghan prompts, "So unintentionally then?"

"I guess so..." 

"Just like your unintentional flirting earlier? With the necklace?" Mingyu nods. "Letting me wear your clothes, buttoning my coat up, opening my door, turning the heating on for me, taking time to look up a place to take me to, pulling out my seat and pushing it in, paying for me... you like taking care of me." Jeonghan doesn't say it like it's up for debate.

"You already take care of all of us so someone has to take care of you," he contends with Jeonghan, defensive for some reason over how much attention he gives Jeonghan. It's not like Jeonghan's saying it's bad, but he feels like he has to explain himself anyway. "You're more sensitive than other people and you get cold easier."

"Yes, and you're warm-blooded, aren't you? In more ways than one?" Jeonghan gives him a harmlessly teasing look then that makes Mingyu want to grab onto his face and... and... well. He wants to do a lot of things to Jeonghan's distracting face that he doesn't act on.

Instead of grabbing Jeonghan's face he reaches for his water and takes another drink. Mingyu almost wishes they really did go to a bar earlier. His hands wouldn't be sweating so bad if he was tipsy.

"I don't think I know what you mean."

"No..." Jeonghan drawls, picking his chopsticks up and returning to his food. "You didn't book a room at that hotel so I suppose you wouldn't."

Mingyu feels everything in him flare red hot and burn.

「❦」

With the food out of the way and the conversation having long since went back to something they were both used to from each other, Mingyu has taken it upon himself to bring Jeonghan to the wall of notes and Polaroids he'd mentioned before. The wall is all exposed red brick and pretty fairy lights, strings of twine crisscrossing along the wall in stretched out Z shapes, pictures pinned into the string and dangling, post-it notes slapped onto the wall with tape, parts of the brick carved into with sharp objects that left behind the shape of hearts and words of love. 

It's one of the most romantic sights Mingyu's ever seen and he turns to Jeonghan with wide, sparkling eyes and a toothy grin.

"Let's put something up together, okay?"

"A picture?" Jeonghan questions, but the look on his face seems worried. 

Mingyu had brought his camera out with them of course. It's been resting against his chest this whole time and Jeonghan's gaze flickers down to it there as he says those words. Mingyu's already taken a few pictures of Jeonghan just while they were eating, smiling privately behind his camera while Jeonghan gave him fond and then annoyed looks when Mingyu snapped a picture of him mid-blink and refused to delete it, but Mingyu had no plans to develop those pictures anywhere. Like the rest of the photos of Jeonghan he's taken since getting the camera, they're all going to stay on it.

"This isn't an instant film camera, I'd have to take it somewhere to develop the photos on it or hook it up to a laptop."

Jeonghan looks at him like he has no idea what he's saying and Mingyu wants to hug him so strongly then that he takes a step back to stop himself.

"What I mean by that is no, I don't want to take a picture."

"Oh. So what else? Shall we draw our dinner like you normally do?" Jeonghan moves toward the small table in front of the wall neatly covered in crafts, long fingers reaching for the post-it notes and a pen.

"How about each other?" Mingyu puts forward instead, saying thanks when Jeonghan passes him a note and a pen as well.

Jeonghan eyes him skeptically, lips pursed. "I can't really draw, you know."

"Don't say that. You're good, hyung."

Dismissively, Jeonghan waves a hand. "Yeah, yeah, that's what you say to butter up all your dates."

Mingyu looks away with a hard swallow, ears burning. He forgot for a moment. He forgot this was a date. He forgot that he's going to drive Jeonghan back home after this. He forgot that he plans to hold Jeonghan's hand if he can. He might kiss him. He might not stop kissing him until Jeonghan gets too dizzy to even stand so he'll have to stop for a moment and then he'll go back to kissing him.

Jeonghan grabs his wrist and Mingyu jumps, attention back on Jeonghan, wrist lit up with tiny electric shocks everywhere Jeonghan's fingers press into his skin. Jeonghan's trying to catch his eyes, brows shot up to his hairline.

"Mingyu? Did you hear me?"

"Y-Yeah. Sorry. I was trying to think... of something..."

Jeonghan withdraws his hand and leans back and Mingyu almost pulls him back, tells him not to let go of him, but then he reminds himself that this isn't the time for that. This is their first date. It doesn't matter how long they've known each other, he needs to remain a gentleman for much longer. Maybe after a while he can ask Jeonghan if he can be his boyfriend and maybe then. Maybe then he can wrap Jeonghan in his arms again and cling onto him until his arms fall off and his heart goes out.

"You were trying to think?" Jeonghan's lips curl up, lopsided and smug. "That must've been hard for you. Did you need any help?"

"I don't think you should be allowed anywhere near my thoughts," Mingyu tells him wisely, finding Jeonghan's shoulder with his palm and sort of pushing him back over to the table so they can sit in the chairs and draw together, thighs pressed close under the table.

If he slips his palm down to Jeonghan's back and begins to rub away at the knots coiled up between his shoulder blades then who's to say he can't? What's wrong with that? If Jeonghan drops his head over his crudely sketched picture of Mingyu (of which Jeonghan forgot to draw eyebrows on) and lets out a pleased little sigh at the pressure of Mingyu's fingers flattening out along his spine then so what? It's not like Mingyu's doing anything bad. It's only to be considerate that once they've finished drawing and have moved over to the wall that Mingyu leans over Jeonghan's back, takes Jeonghan's drawing from his hands with a gentle brush of their fingers together, and then stretches up to tape it as high as he can on the wall. The two pictures sit together above everything and Mingyu feels the heat of Jeonghan's back against his chest as he drops back down and blows out a breath that ruffles Jeonghan's hair.

When Jeonghan looks at him afterwards and shyly bites his lip Mingyu thinks about nothing other than making sure he gets them safely home.

「❦」

The air is freezing once Mingyu opens the door for Jeonghan to get out of the car. It's much later than before they left and the sky looks about as dark as it can look in Seoul. Mingyu puts his arm around Jeonghan's back to corral Jeonghan toward the right direction. Jeonghan's already started shivering, hands tucked under his armpits in his coat, the sleeves dangling around limply without Jeonghan's arms in them. It's sort of funny and sort of adorable but Mingyu doesn't take too long to appreciate it before he's encouraging Jeonghan to take faster steps because it's so cold out that even Mingyu himself is being effected by it.  

"Thank you for taking me out tonight," Jeonghan tells him while leaning into Mingyu's chest as they walk.

"Well thank you for agreeing and not laughing at me earlier."

Jeonghan smiles toothily and Mingyu hates how he can see Jeonghan's teeth chattering like that. It's so cold and for God's sake, why was the garage of their building so far away?

"You know I did kind of laugh at you, right?" Jeonghan reminds him with a shrug.

"Well. You always do that. You weren't mean about it, though. That's what I meant."

"Okay. You're really fun to pick at, though." Jeonghan sniffles as his nose grows numb in the harsh winter's cold. "You never take anything too seriously and you're easy to be around."

"Sometimes I'm not."

Jeonghan hums considerately. "I suppose sometimes you're not. But that's just when you're stressed out." Jeonghan shivers then, scooting closer to Mingyu. He's practically pressing his whole back into Mingyu's chest. It's a mystery how they're still managing to walk but Mingyu isn't going to complain. "It's so cold."

"It'll be warm inside."

"Mm. You're warm, though. I could use you like a heater even without the coat." 

"Do not take your coat off," Mingyu warns instead of making a weirdly proud noise at Jeonghan for saying that. He almost does but the key word is 'almost.'

"As if I would. I think it's cold enough to give me frostbite if I so much as stick a finger out of my coat."

"If you didn't have your arms in your coat I'd hold you hand," Mingyu says, and then immediately wishes he could  _unsay_ because he didn't mean to say that out loud. Hell, he hardly even meant to  _think_ that.

Jeonghan pulls back an inch and, with a coy quirk of his mouth, stares up at Mingyu. "Would you really?"

"I... I mean, I- well-"

Jeonghan awkwardly moves around in his coat until he can stick the arm that kept bumping against Mingyu's chest back through the sleeve. He wiggles his gloved fingers and then stuffs his hand in Mingyu's coat pocket, palm over the back of the hand Mingyu's buried deep inside for warmth. They're not really holding hands until Mingyu turns his hand to the side and slides their fingers together, and when they do that, when it becomes hand holding, Mingyu lets out a happy noise, a sighing sort of hum, and if he could manage to walk while doing it he'd have his head resting on Jeonghan's shoulder in a zenned out bubble of bliss. But he's too tall and they're too busy freezing and flirting and walking to try and make it work.

By the time they get to the building Mingyu's whole body feels warm again from the effect of having Jeonghan so near to him, but since Jeonghan's still shivering he wastes no time pushing the door open and herding Jeonghan inside. Mingyu wonders for a moment if he could get away with using the excuse of the cold working its way under his coat still as a reason for him to keep Jeonghan tucked into him like he is. He doesn't think so. Regretfully and with much reluctance Mingyu drops his arm from around Jeonghan. Jeonghan looks up at him with a frown and a displeased _mm?_ in the back of his throat, but Mingyu doesn't think it's wise to keep touching him when he's leading Jeonghan up the stairs to his room.

He pulls Jeonghan's hand from his pocket and squeezes tight just once before letting go.

"Is it okay if I walk you to your room?" Mingyu asks innocently enough.

He doesn't want the date to end and he already knows that once it does he's going to be thinking about it for the rest of the foreseeable future.

Jeonghan nods, remarking playfully, "I'd be mad if you didn't."

They're quiet as they walk together. When they're actually inside the dorm they shuffle out of their shoes and change into slippers. Mingyu hangs his coat on the hook beside the door and then they're walking to Jeonghan's door. The other boys are either busy in their rooms or just doing other things, because they don't run into anyone else. Mingyu thinks he hears a shower running in the dorm so he knows at least someone's there.

He didn't plan this part out at all. Should he have just said goodbye inside the duplex's initial entrance between floors?

Jeonghan turns around just as they reach his room. Apropos of nothing, Jeonghan tells him, "We've been on a few dates before, you know. Unofficially, of course. You didn't actually say they were dates."

Mingyu's more than a little thrown by that. "What? When?"

"You took me for a drive a few months ago, remember? After we got back from the airport and you grabbed my arm and asked if I wanted to go somewhere with you. And all those drives since then. And when you took me to that restaurant on my birthday."

Mingyu tries his hardest not to smack himself in the face right in front of the guy he likes. Especially because Jeonghan would tease him about it relentlessly.

"Oh... I didn't realize those were dates."

"How could you not..." Jeonghan shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose for a second. "You know what, never mind. They were dates, though. We were alone and we like each other, so clearly they were all dates."

He feels like the rug has just been pulled right out from him as Jeonghan's words halt everything for a minute, slamming down on the breaks in Mingyu's head. His heartbeat picks up and his stomach starts feeling a bit funny.

"Wait." He presses a hand to his forehead, processing. "Hyung... you like me? You said you like me?"

Jeonghan just stares at him, improbable eyes boring into his face. "Mingyu... I just went on a date with you on Valentine's Day."

"Yeah," Mingyu says quickly, something bubbling up inside him, "but you _like_ me?"

Jeonghan rolls his eyes and gestures at him with a limp, wishy-washy hand. "Yes, Mingyu, for some reason I like you."

It shouldn't be as easy as it is for Mingyu to kiss Jeonghan then.

Mingyu's eyes squeeze closed in one breath and in the next his hands find the soft curves of Jeonghan's jaw like they already knew exactly where to be, how to hold Jeonghan's face cradled in his palms and bring him up. He tips back Jeonghan's head and leans down over him, mouth pressing gently to Jeonghan's despite the way his pulse ricochets and his blood boils with how good even just holding his face in his hands makes him feel.

It lasts for barely five seconds before Mingyu's reeling back and looking from Jeonghan to his hands like he's done something wrong, like he's accidentally crossed a line he shouldn't have on the first date. Or apparently this isn't their first date, so it's not as bad, but still... he didn't mean to kiss Jeonghan. He didn't. His chest just felt all hot and all thumpy and weird and his hands were reaching before he could even think. Because he wasn't thinking, he was just feeling, and what he wanted more than anything was to feel Jeonghan's mouth again, for real, and for longer than five seconds.

"I'm sorry," he's apologizing, rubbing at his chest like he's got heartburn. "I shouldn't have done that- I shouldn't have-"

Jeonghan steps quickly over to him without blinking. He weaves his long fingers through the soft strands of Mingyu's hair and pulls him back down to kiss the sense right out of him. Mingyu doesn't know much about what might be running through Jeonghan's head, but he hopes he's feeling everything Mingyu is. He hopes Jeonghan's chest feels like bursting, that his toes are curling like Mingyu's are in his shoes, that the hand Jeonghan drops to twist in Mingyu's shirt is just as shaky as the ones Mingyu slips over the small of Jeonghan's back.

"Don't apologize," Jeonghan's saying when they part before coming together again, "I've wanted to kiss you for years."

Mingyu doesn't whimper against Jeonghan's mouth at that confession. He doesn't. His heart doesn't trip over itself and he doesn't think, blearily between even more soft kisses, that he's so glad Jeonghan's felt the same way too.

"Hyung, I really like you," Mingyu mutters against Jeonghan's lips.

That makes Jeonghan laugh, all scrunched up nose and crescent-shaped eyes, which then devolves into small giggles that he presses to Mingyu's mouth - ones that make Mingyu's stomach swoop and fizzle at how sweet they sound.

"Yeah, Mingyu, I got that." 

Mingyu shakes his head and presses their foreheads together, no longer chastely kissing but hovering right there by Jeonghan's lips like he might start again soon. He presses his shaking palms further into Jeonghan's back, bringing Jeonghan a little closer. "No, but I really, really like you."

"That's okay," Jeonghan breathes out shallowly, untwisting his hand from Mingyu's shirt to rub his chest soothingly, or maybe just to do it while he has the chance. "I _really, really_ like you too."

"Okay," Mingyu accepts pliantly, nose rubbing into Jeonghan's smooth cheek.

"Would you like to come into my room for a minute?" Jeonghan offers and Mingyu goes stiff, feeling like someone's slipped a handful of ice cubes down the back of his shirt as he fights back shivers at the throaty sound of Jeonghan's voice.

Mingyu laughs nervously. "It's, u-um, it's only our first date. I don't really think I should..."

"Mingyu," Jeonghan says quite plainly for someone who was just kissing him like he needed Mingyu's lips more than oxygen in his lungs. Jeonghan gives a beleaguered sigh. "I just wanted to take my coat off before I walk you to the door so you can go downstairs to your floor."

"Oh," Mingyu coughs, shame making his stomach flop pitifully. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll come in for a moment."

Jeonghan pulls back and Mingyu opens his eyes to see Jeonghan's flushed cheeks and cheeky smile. Jeonghan sticks his hand out and he takes it once again, Jeonghan leading him into the room and telling him to wait just by the door. Mingyu closes it behind him and rests his back against the knob, fingers fiddling with the lock. Just... you know, just in case.

Mid-way through sliding his coat onto a coat hanger Jeonghan confesses casually, "I've never kissed someone before," and makes Mingyu's heart squeeze up all tight, seized by the notion of that alone.

"What? Never?"

Shaking his head, Jeonghan admits again, "Not at all."

"But you're..." Mingyu trails off in confusion. _Handsome. Cute. Fun to play with. A good friend. A good person. Kinder than anything. So intelligent. So perfect. So distracting and difficult. Easy to Love. Warm._  "But... you're you."

"Thank you, Mingyu, for telling me I'm me," Jeonghan says sarcastically, putting the hanger in the wardrobe. "I didn't know before now."

"No, hyung, but... you're so..." Mingyu's hand runs through his hair without any idea what to do or say. How could he tell him?

Jeonghan cants his head and walks over to him again. "Do you plan on speaking in full sentences any time soon?"

Mingyu shakes his head, not at what Jeonghan said just then but at the lack of taste other people have. "What about high school? Didn't you date then?"

"I wasn't necessarily popular enough to be asked out."

Mingyu recalls those fans at Isac talking about how Jeonghan had a nickname when he was younger. He can't remember what it was exactly, but the girls remembered him for as long as they did, so he must have been popular. Mingyu can't believe otherwise when he's practically been infatuated since the first week he met Jeonghan. It just wouldn't make any sense.

"I doubt that," he insists.

"By guys, I mean."

"Oh." Mingyu lets that process. Then he stops thinking about that and starts kissing Jeonghan instead, warm hands on Jeonghan's cold neck. He tells him, "Tell me if it's not good enough for you, okay? I want to give you all the best first kisses," and then steals his way inside Jeonghan's mouth.

Jeonghan tastes good and his body sort of deflates when Mingyu really kisses him, when his tongue slips into his mouth, when their breath mingles. Mingyu's thumb presses under his jaw and he furrows his brow in the effort it takes to kiss Jeonghan as well as he deserves, in all the best ways that make him shiver and press forward for more. Jeonghan doesn't quite whimper but he does make a sound that melts Mingyu's brain when he licks at the roof of his mouth and has Jeonghan raising on the tips of his toes.

It's not until Mingyu's lips are stinging that he finally pulls away from Jeonghan's mouth for what feels like hours later. Jeonghan's been clutching at Mingyu's forearms the whole time and Mingyu has been trying very hard not to think about how cute that is. Jeonghan's uneven puffs of breath leave his wet mouth open and Mingyu could really just kiss him forever, but... it's their first date. It's their first date and Mingyu knows he's at his limit and needs to go now or at least slow down.

"Jeonghan," he says quietly before kissing Jeonghan's forehead, the side of his temple. "Would you liked to go on another date with me soon?"

He pulls away and smiles at the bright look in Jeonghan's eyes, the _'obviously I would, idiot'_ roll of his eyes.

"You don't have to ask when you obviously know the answer, but yes."

"Okay then," he says with a watery, overjoyed grin, trying exceptionally hard not to giggle. "Will you walk me out to the door now? And I'll see you tomorrow for practice?"

"Only if you promise not to run to Seokmin the second you get to your dorm and start gushing."

"I wouldn't tell Seokmin anyway. I'd tell Minghao."

"I wouldn't expect anything different from you. Come on, let's get you home."

"Will you kiss me outside my doorstep?"

Jeonghan tugs the door open after gently pushing Mingyu out from in front of it. "No."

"Hyung," Mingyu whines jokingly, tugging at Jeonghan's elbow as they go into the hall.

Jeonghan slides his arm up in Mingyu's grasp, Mingyu's hand slipping down until Jeonghan's holding his hand as he leads him out.

"Don't beg," Jeonghan huffs. "You're not a dog."

"I just want a kiss," he pouts.

"Get one from your roommate then."

"His lips aren't your lips. He doesn't sound like you, or talk like you, or walk like you, or-"

"I get it. You only want to kiss me." Jeonghan's trying really hard not to smile, mouth twitching visibly. "You should try to be less clingy after one date."

"Hyung," Mingyu laughs breathlessly, hopelessly, hearts in his eyes, "you're the one holding my hand, though."

Jeonghan's mouth pinches up, eyes narrowed, and he stops them just at the entrance of the dorm. He points at Mingyu's shoes and then his coat with the hand currently not holding clingily onto Mingyu's.

"Put your shoes on."

"Can I have my hand back?" he wonders, but he's already squatting beside Jeonghan and trying to stuff his foot into his shoe with one hand. 

"Absolutely not."

Mingyu can work with that. He gets both shoes on, the backs of them folded uncomfortably down under his heel but he doesn't really care. He stands back up and beams at Jeonghan.

"What about my coat?"

Jeonghan reaches behind Mingyu, almost caging Mingyu in against the wall for a moment when he does it and making Mingyu's heart skip a beat, and then he helps slide Mingyu's arm in through one sleeve. Afterwards he lets go of Mingyu's hand only to stick his other hand out and wiggle his fingers with a pointed chin nod and raise of his brows. Mingyu doesn't stop himself from giggling this time, grabbing Jeonghan's hand and then getting his other arm in the other sleeve.

"Thank you."

"It's cold," Jeonghan points out, dropping Mingyu's hand and pulling Mingyu's hood up over his head with both hands on either side of the black fur trim. He raises up some more and explains beforehand, "To keep you warm," and kisses Mingyu just long enough to make Mingyu's face get all hot again. He drops back on his heels and pats Mingyu's cheek. "Go on downstairs now. Call me when you have an idea for our next date."

Mingyu leaves the upstairs dorm stunned and flushed bright red from head to toe, chest warm and fuzzy, fingers pulling his phone out to text a simple:

_How about we go somewhere tomorrow after practice?_


End file.
